K-Wings defenseman Sam Ftorek drew a tribute to his sister, Anna Ftorek, like this one he did in K-Wings colors. It was his sister's favorite flower, an asiatic lily, with musical notes instead of pistils and her name on one of the petals. Pam Shebest | Special to mlive.com

Her life was unexpectedly cut short by a heart attack on July 21 at her parents’ home in New Hampshire where the siblings had gathered during the summer.

“When something like this happens to someone so young, you have no idea how to deal with it, what to say to your kids, what to say to people and people don’t know what to say to you,” Ftorek said. “It’s one of those things where you slowly and surely just grind through it.”

Ftorek is grinding through it with the help of his teammates, who unveiled a tribute to Anna on their helmets in Saturday’s 4-1 ECHL win against the Evansville IceMen.

When the Ontario League Erie Otters, coached by Sam’s father, Robbie Ftorek, announced they were dedicating the season to Anna’s memory, his father asked Sam to design a logo for their helmets.

K-Wings defenseman Sam Ftorek holds his helmet with the tribute to his sister, Anna Ftorek. The players will wear the logo on their helmets the entire season.

“It’s my sister’s favorite flower, which is an asiatic lily or shooting star lily or star gazing lily, I think,” Sam Ftorek said. “I just drew it and where the little pistils were. I put musical notes because she loved to sing, and I put ‘Anna’ in one of the petals.

“It just kind of symbolizes her as much as one picture can.”

K-Wings coach Nick Bootland said when the organization heard what they were doing in Erie, they liked the idea of a tribute.

“Obviously, it’s a very trying time for their family,” Bootland said. “We wanted to find a way to give tribute and try to help them through this tough time.

“I don’t know if anything would help, but we wanted to show them we cared and we value what he’s done for us and what his family has done for the Wings organization, the city of Kalamazoo and the way they represent us.”

Eric Kattelus

Forward Eric Kattelus, who scored two power-play goals on Saturday, said the players were all for putting the logo on their helmets.

“Obviously, it’s a terrible loss and Sam’s an invaluable player on our team,” he said. “He’s always the first man in and last man out. He sets a great example for all of us guys coming up on how to be a pro. It’s an honor.”

Said Ftorek: “It’s surreal. It comes in waves, but it still hasn’t really kicked in. It’s something we’re dealing with slowly.

“With the stickers on the helmets, it’s a tough time, but hockey is a time I can get away and let my mind just go to what I’m used to doing. It’s just kind of flowing right now.”

In spite of the losses (his grandmother died in August), the summer hasn’t been a total downer. Ftorek’s wife, Misty, gave birth to Mason on Aug. 16, joining their other children, Ariana and Savo.

“It was a tough summer,” Ftorek said. “Aside from Mason, it was a summer to forget. Mason was born Aug. 16. That was something that could kind of keep our minds focused elsewhere and make sure we weren’t getting too depressed about things.

“With every passing, there’s a new beginning. Without Mason, the whole summer would have been a wash because my mom’s mom died Aug. 15. It was a tough summer, but we were around family and friends. The whole hockey community came out.”

So far, Ftorek has been turning his grief into numbers on the ice.

He scored two power-play goals in Friday’s 3-2 win at Evansville, then assisted on Kattelus’ two tallies on Saturday. He’s second in the ECHL with six power-play points in the K-Wings’ six games this season.

His seven points (2 goals, five assists) put him second in the league to the Idaho Steelheads’ Jeremie Blain, who has nine (3-6) in eight games.

Ftorek said the team is very deep, with a lot of skill and a good work ethic.

Nick Bootland

“We have two starting goalies (Joel Martin and Joe Cannata), three No. 1 lines, and basically, we have six defensemen,” he said. “And those are just the guys playing.

“We have guys sitting out who have performed in this league and will have no problem stepping in, be it injuries or whether it’s just numbers. It’s fun to be a part of.”

Wednesday’s game at the Cincinnati Cyclones will be the first midweek game for the K-Wings this season.

“The first couple weeks you’re playing on the weekend and once you get into the grind, it’s going to be a regular thing,” Kattelus said. “We’re gonna have to figure out a way to come every night and be focused and ready to play.

“On Thursday, everyone’s getting a little feisty, wanting to get into a game, so we take it out on the other team, and we’re doing that right now.”

Bootland said the game in Cincinnati will be a test for his team.

“Cincinnati is one of the hottest teams in our division,” he said. “I think we’re at a point right now where we’re playing pretty well.

“There’s always things to work on but we’ve have a lot of practice time as a group. We’ve had a lot of extra workouts early on in the year, so I know these guys want to get into the rhythm of playing (midweek) games and not working out so much.”

FAMILIAR FACE: If old-time Kalamazoo fans looked up into the Evansville side of the broadcast booth Saturday night, they may have seen a familiar face. Terry Ficorelli, who is the team’s play-by-play man, was the Voice of the K-Wings for their first 11 years of existence.

TIME CHANGE: The start time for K-Wings game against the Fort Wayne Komets at Wings Stadium on Saturday has been changed to 3 p.m. as the first game of a doubleheader. The ECHL game will be followed by the North American Hockey League’s Junior K-Wings game against the Port Huron Fighting Falcons at 7 p.m.